State regulators keep the pressure on Ross Valley Sanitary District to boost spending on pipe repair

State regulators are keeping the heat on the Ross Valley Sanitary District to reduce the amount of sewage it spills by moving more quickly to fix its network of aging pipes.

The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board recently notified the district that it will hold a public meeting on May 8 to consider whether to issue a cease-and-desist order against it. Such an order would not result in any immediate penalties; but it would pave the way for enforcement action if the district failed to comply with provisions contained in the order.

In November, the board issued a notice of violation, notifying the district that it was violating state law by allowing sewage to overflow into local waterways and failing to allocate adequate resources for repair of its failing pipes. The board gave the district until Jan. 25 to submit a plan for bringing the district into compliance.

The district responded with a plan that calls for spending $3 million to $4 million to fix three miles of its most seriously deficient pipe in two phases by December 2013 and June 2014. The board also committed to coming up with a financing strategy for making pipe repairs at 737 additional locations over the next five years.

Explaining why the water board is considering a cease-and-desist order, board Division Chief Lila Tang said, "In this case we thought what the district was proposing would get them back on track, so what we wanted to do was issue this order which essentially memorializes what they said they're going to do."

Tang said if a jurisdiction fails to follow through on a correction plan, such orders give the board more leverage. Tang said the board can then issue a directive that becomes legally enforceable, "when we feel that we need to hold their feet to the fire."

The district and others wishing to comment on the proposed cease-and-desist order have until April 25 to submit comments in writing to the board. The district's interim general manager, Greg Norby, said he couldn't comment on whether the district would contest the order; Norby said the district's board discussed the matter in closed session.

Norby said the district was already planning to do most of the pipe repair detailed in the cease-and-desist order. "The timing and phasing of those projects would be revised under guidance of the order," he said.

The order specifies that beginning in fiscal year 2013-14, the district must "rehabilitate its collection system at an average rate of 4 miles per fiscal year, based on a three-year rolling average." It also states that the district must by July 1 put into place "adjusted sewer rates or other financing" to ensure adequate funding for pipe repair.

District board President Frank Egger said the board would discuss the proposed order publicly when it meets April 15.

"We appreciate that the water board is now working with us," Egger said. He added, however, "I'm concerned about the overall cost to implement their long-range plan."

New district board member Mary Sylla said, "This is just the next step in the process. We're happy with how it's going."